“Hitsville U.S.A.” is the Motown Museum located in the home, which was purchased in 1959 and became Motown’s first home and studio. The Hitsville U.S.A. building has been preserved as Studio A. The museum has been dedicated to the legacy of the record label, its artists, and music.
Motown Record Corporation was incorporated in 1960. Its name, which is a blend of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was initially headquartered.
Motown Records was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. at a home on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan. It was converted for use as the record label’s administrative building and recording studio.
In its early days, the studio was open 22 hours a day, closing only for 2 hours for maintenance. Within seven years, Motown’s would occupy seven additional neighboring houses. By the end of 1966, Motown had hired over 450 employees and had a gross income of $20 million.
In the early 1970s, Gordy moved the label to Los Angeles to establish the Hitsville West studio.
Today, three of the original Motown homes are used by the Motown Museum.
Stevie Wonder – Motown
Highlights of the Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
- Costumes, photos, and records from Motown’s success era
- Motown’s Studio A
- Berry Gordy’s upstairs apartment, decorated to appear as they did during the 1960s
- Interactive exhibits about Motown
- Motown Records Exhibit
- Michael Jackson’s black fedora and studded white right-hand glove
- Motown’s Steinway grand piano – 1877 Steinway & Sons Model D
- Motown Memorabilia
The Marvelettes – Motown
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
- Museum: Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
- City: Detroit
- State: Michigan
- Country: United States
- Established: 1985
- Type: History Museum
- Location: 2648 W Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI, United States
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum – Map
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum – 360 Virtual Views
Virtual Tour of the Museums in Detroit
- Detroit Institute of Arts
- Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village
- Detroit Historical Museum
- Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
Hitsville U.S.A. – Motown Museum
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“Motown was about music for all people – white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers. I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone.”
– Berry Gordy
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Photo Credit: Dig Downtown Detroit / CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0); Motown Records / Public domain; Motown/Tamla Records-photographer-James Kriegsmann, New York / Public domain
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